I don't believe I have a windows 98 CD anywhere in my house...
Is it possible something came loose inside the box thing?
Bah! I'd never have this problem with a Dell!! (Slightly kidding, but these things are so reliable)
Is it possible something came loose inside the box thing?
Yes, although the cause would be mysterious.
If you take a look inside and check all the IDE cables (more description available if you need it) you might get things working again. I'd unplug and then replug each cable in turn, then turn the computer back on and see how things look. They can be a little tricky to disconnect sometimes. Just make sure to pull them out by the plastic plugs on the ends, rather than by the cable. Rocking the plug from side to side (it's very wide) may help.
That's only if you feel up to checking them. It sounds like the next troubleshooting step to me.
It's also possible that there's a bad cable which needs replacing, or that I'm completely off base and the problem isn't cable related at all.
Is there an IDE drive autodetection feature in the BIOS? You might want to try using that if there is, since you wouldn't have to open the case if it worked.
If you got an error message that said "Operating system not found" then nothing should be wrong inside the case. I would try booting on the start up floppy and running scandisk. pm me if you have questions
